The Nets took the best shot that the Pacers and Reggie Miller had to give in an opening-round series that ended with one of the most exciting games in the history of the NBA.

And now it gets hard.

The Charlotte Hornets, with depth, defense, scoring and a mini-Jason Kidd in Baron Davis, await. But above all, the Hornets have size. Lots of size.

“This series is going to be won on the boards and in the paint,” Byron Scott said.

“Rebounds,” Kenyon Martin said without a second’s hesitation. “Rebounds are the most important thing . . . We can go big too, but they’ve got a big front line. And they bring guys off the bench who are pretty big.”

Winning Game 1, tomorrow at 12:30 in the Meadowlands, is a must for the Nets. Jamal Mashburn, the Hornets’ leading scorer, is still out with a viral infection, anemia, vitamin deficiency and just about everything short of malaria, and is not expected back before Game 2. Plus, Jamaal Magloire, the Hornets’ 6-11 backup center who punished the Nets the last time the teams met, will sit out a suspension for a flagrant foul. See? They just don’t call them on Martin. But no Mashburn is key.

“We are preparing like he is going to be there,” said Kidd, whose star never shone brighter as a Net than it did in the senses-numbing 120-109 two-overtime triumph over Indiana in Game 5 on Thursday.

But Kidd noted the depth of the Hornets as the Nets’ chief concern. When Mashburn plays, Charlotte can bring its two superb defensive stoppers in George Lynch and Stacey Augmon, who has been rejuvenated in New Orleans, er Charlotte.

“Their strength is their bench. You can talk about their starters but their strength is their bench and they got a big front line,” Kidd said.

“That is the key right there – the front line,” said Nets center Todd MacCulloch, who has struggled against counterpart Elden Campbell’s quickness (Campbell outscored him 16.0 to 4.0 in the regular season).

And it is the front line that has the Hornets, the fourth seed, dreaming of an upset against the top seeded Nets.

“We are a physical team,” said coach Paul Silas, whose Hornets were sixth in the league in rebounding. “We are a big team. We like to use our bulk, but we are not out to hurt anybody. We want to play as physical as we can and dominate the boards. We try to use the gifts that we are given . . . It is certainly to our advantage to play tough.”

“It will be interesting to see how he fits back because they have been playing so well without him,” Keith Van Horn observed. “Baron Davis picked up the slack and it will be interesting to see how they play together and distribute shots.”